Mature Russell Westbrook rising to the occasion – NBA Feature Part 1
Russell Westbrook is a changed man this postseason, signalling that he is growing as a player in the league and maturing with respect to responsibilities as a star player in a team.
We all know Westbrook likes to be noticed. And there is nothing wrong with that. His choice of clothing during post game press conferences have become the talk of the town. However, he wants to be noticed for his game and his skills
on the court. And looking at the way he is playing, how anyone could not notice.
Westbrook has had an amazing season, building on the performances of the previous season where the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the Western Conference Finals. He has always been an aggressive player who is ultra fast on his feet
and likes to attack the defence. This year saw him being in the race for the MVP title, putting in consistent performances on a nightly basis. After Durant, he is the second scoring option for the Thunder.
Westbrook scored 27 points and dished 11 assists in the game 1 victory against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. He also had 8 rebounds in the game. But the best part about his game was that he had only 2 turnovers. For a ball
handler who makes plays and is fast and aggressive, 2 turnovers is an achievement. He took his time to get started, scoring on 3 of his first 10 attempts, but took over in the 2nd half where he scored 18 points in the 3rd and 4th
quarter.
The 2010-2011 playoffs came with the good and the bad for Westbrook. He made some errors of judgement at critical junctures and was criticized for taking too many shots. The one guard took 20.3 shots per game in the post season
as compared to 20.2 by Durant, who was the scoring champion that year as well. He was also criticised was attempting shots and not trying to make plays. Another weakness in his game was his turnovers. Last year in the playoffs, Westbrook averaged 4.6 turnovers.
This year, Westbrook is looking towards fixing those flaws.
In these playoffs, Westbrook is taking 19.4 shots per game compared to 18.7 by Durant. However, he is also passing the ball and playing the role of the play maker and ball distributor. His 11 assists in game of the Finals is testament
to that. Plus, Westbrook is also controlling the ball much better, averaging 2.3 turnovers per game so far compared with 3.6 in the regular season.
Westbrook can never be a Steve Nash or Chris Paul type of player and his team does not expect that from him. He is more of a Derrick Rose, who takes plenty of shots and tries to make plays for his team by drawing the defence towards
him. He has the same speed, athleticism, jump and range of Rose. And he wants to play to his strengths.
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